Senators Rally Falls Short in 6-5 Loss to Altoona

The Altoona Curve defeated the Harrisburg Senators 6-5 Friday night at PNG Field. Stephen Perez finished with three hits while Victor Robles extended his hitting streak to 18 games in the loss. 

The Curve scored their first two runs with single runs in the first and fourth, before breaking the game open with three runs in the sixth on two hits, an error, a hit batter and a walk to take a 5-0 advantage.
The Senators got on the board with a pair of runs in the seventh, capped by a two RBI pinch-hit single by José Marmolejos. With the hit, Marmolejos extended his hitting streak to 15 games. 
The Senators continued the comeback in the eighth with three RBI singles from Osvaldo Abreu, Perez and Marmolejos to close the gap to a run.
The club put runners and first and third in the ninth, however Yeudy Garcia induced a fly out from Abreu to pick up his fifth save and strand the tying run at third.
Mitch Keller (2-2) picked up the win after tossing six shutout innings.
Matthew Crownover (1-7) took the loss after allowing two runs and five hits over five innings. He also struck out three and walked three. 
Robles knocked a pinchi-hit single in the ninth to extend his hitting streak to 18 games, tying him for the longest streak in the Eastern League this season and tying him for the fifth longest in Senators history.
The Senators and Curve play game two of the series Saturday night. Senators pitcher Kyle McGowin starts opposite Altoona starter Alex McCrae. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 pm from PNG Field.